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As I drove into the office this morning the lead radio news story was the record first quarter profits announced by Shell and BP – some £3.9bn and £3.315bn respectively. Bizarrely, both companies claimed that those profits were largely due to the rise in the price of crude oil, with the recent steep climb in forecourt pump prices having contributed little. Make of that what you will…but there’s no doubt that running a Jaguar at the moment is more expensive than it has ever been, a point made to me by some of the participants in this year’s London to Brighton run. In fact, in the discussions I had with several finishers, two key topics cropped up; the cost of fuel, and the future of Jaguar under Tata ownership. Views on the first topic were unanimous – fuel prices are becoming ever more crippling – but opinion on Tata’s ownership was split down the middle between those who felt the new parent company would cut costs, and those who felt it would invest in Jaguar’s future. Personally, I fall into the latter camp, and I hope I’m right as the one area that is certainly in need of investment – specifically because of those crippling fuel costs – is engine technology. With an estimated 80% of UK orders for the XF being for the diesel-engined model, it’s clear that the success of Jaguar’s newest saloon is, for the time being, reliant on the 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel unit, an engine also available in the XJ. Yet that very powerplant was first introduced in the 2004 S-TYPE. It’s still a very accomplished engine, but technology has moved on quickly since its introduction and, at present, there’s no sign of Jaguar adding to its current engine line-up – petrol or diesel. And that’s a worry.